.dta file corrupt - Stata 13.0

[Filipa Madeira]

My data file have been corrupted.
Any help will be appreciated in order to deal with this problem.

Here is the message I get:

.dta file corrupt
The file does not record <varnames> where expected. Either the file was written
incorrectly in the first place or the file has become corrupted.

[Carlo Lazzaro]

Filipa:
the best (and probaly only one) therapy is having a copy of this .dta.
Should this problem persist, I would contact Stata Tech Support.

[Carole J. Wilson]

Have you ever been able to open this dataset, or is this the first time you've attempted to open it?

[Nick Cox]

You could try in Stata

type filename.dta

and it might turn out to be something else. If it really is a corrupt .dta file, return to sender with an explanation of the problem.